Yuletide Carols

Christmas music is polarizing. It's one of those things people either love or hate. Like sushi, Nancy Drew or the Lakers. I don't love Christmas music enough to listen to it prior to December 1st, but once the stockings are hung by the chimney with care...IT'S ON! And for years I have firmly believed that Baby It's Cold Outside is the greatest of yuletide carols.

The lyrics include: "I ought to say no, no, no sir/Mind if I move a little closer", "The neighbors might think/Baby it's bad out there/Say what's in this drink?", "Man your lips look so delicious", "There's bound to be talk tomorrow/at least there will be plenty implied" and "Baby don't hold out/Ahhh but it's cold outside". Sexmas, anyone? And if we blame it on the a-a-a-a-a alcohol and bad weather we might still make the Nice List.

Some versions include spoken commentary between the verses making the song more like a play or short dinner theater. Lines like: "Make it worth your while baby. Ahh, do that again..."

The major reason it tops the list though has more to do with the pairings. The song was written in 1944 by Frank Loesser, who originally sung it with his wife. But over the years it seems most of the duets are sung by young girls and much older men. Here are 4 of my favorite parings:

 {Okay, okay I realize Dolly Parton and Rod Stewart are peers, but it's still hilarious}

Have yourself a pervy little Christmas now!

Playlist Highlights
Santa Baby                                                 Kylie Minogue
Merry Christmas, Baby                             Elvis Presley
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus           Jackson 5
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)      Michael Buble
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas     Neil Diamond
Last Christmas                                           Wham!

Snowpocalypse!

Nine months ago today there was blizzard in Chicago. 20 inches+ of snow. Fox News called Labor and Delivery today inquiring about spikes in the birth rate that could be attributed to the storm. Apparently while most of us were shoveling driveways and looking into purchasing snow plows a few people were listening to Al Green and Marvin Gaye and gettin' it on and stayin' together and all that. Currently I hate those people. And the birth rate spike. November is historically a mellow month in the obstetric world. Not so in 2011! Thanks, blizzard. Thanks, 11/1/11. Thanks, 11/11/11.
In an effort to thwart karma and avoid becoming fortune's fool as a result of my grumbling and lamenting I will now list four rad things about November 2nd:

Brand new pillows. Extra firm. Authentic down. Legit. Pure love. I look forward to not needing Ambien tonight. {Thanks, mum!}

Two months post pre-ordering on Amazon this finally arrived. Ryan Gosling in all his airbrushed sexiness.

She & Him Christmas album. Nuff said.

Returned Game of Thrones to the library and picked up this. In a very atypical {for me} fashion I saw the movie trailer and was intrigued. "Redefined the spy novel." Thems fightin' words.

Doctor's Orders

Post 3 1/2 day mini break in California I got sick. I swear as soon as the plane touched the tarmac at O'Hare my head started pounding and the lymph nodes started paining. After suffering through two days of work one of the OBGYNs prescribed a z-pak and I called off work. My uber productive sick day involved 1.5 viewings of the new Jane Eyre, drinking excessive amounts of Naked Mighty Mango juice, sleeping, working on medical terminology homework and catching up on my television shows.  I also spent a copious amount on my Mac and online. Upsides: Updated the iPhone to iOS 5, purchased the Season 4 finale of Breaking Bad, cleaned up my Inbox, saw a 'I'm a Mormon' video while watching Parks and Rec on Hulu,  and synced my BodyMedia Fit. Downsides: two status updates on Facebook in less than 8 hours, and spent more than 4 minutes on the E! website reading about Kim Kardashian's birthday plans, and realized my blog has been relegated to position of red-headed stepchild these last five months in lieu of the quicker, sexier Instagram. 
As a bonus realization I discovered that colds amplify the way emotions sound. Especially crying and colds. Everything sounds so much more pathetic, spilt milk sad,  end of the world sad, 5150 sad, Jane leaving Rochester sad. Whilst I don't want to delve into the reasons for aforementioned crying I do want to talk about Dr. Suess. And not so much talk as quote.

"Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don' t
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you."

But I am ready for the Boom Bands to start playing. And the Hakken-Kraks to stop howling.  And my nose to stop running.

Playlist Highlights
Nightcall                                             Kavinsky
Money                                                The Drums
I Would Do Anything For You           Foster the People
Lion's Share                                       Wild Beasts
Pain In My Heart                               Otis Redding
Emergency Exit                                 Beck

Easy Access

Netflix is occasionally the best thing that ever happened to me. Especially since my Sony Blu-Ray player and Netflix are BFF and I can stream movies directly to my television. Pure love. Last weekend I re-watched the entire series of My So-Called Life. There was only one season. 19 episodes. So it was NBD and not nearly as pathetic as it sounds. In those 19 episodes Angela Chase {Claire Danes} must have worn at least as many pairs of overalls. Jean, maroon, long, short, corduroy. No boy as hot as Jordan Catalano {Jared Leto} would ever date a girl so fanatically devoted to such a hideous article of clothing. Even if he were willing to overlook the plethora of plaid and sunflowers. I am fairly certain overalls repulse all men, including rapists. Even Sex and the City could not make overalls sexy. Overalls are for train conductors, painters, carpenters and toddlers not hot women.  Consequently I laughed heartily, reflected on my own overall wearing days and enjoyed the early 90s flashback. Imagine my shock and disgust when I saw this whilst watching the "Rumors" episode of Glee on Hulu this morning:

Vomit in a bucket. These cannot be making a comeback. Please do not let summer 2011 be the Summer of Overalls. Ryan Murphy what were you thinking? Not even gorgeous Naya Rivera can make this work. Somewhere Anna Wintour is sobbing.
Playlist Highlights
Night Moves                    Bob Segar
Houses of the Holy          Led Zeppelin
Sherry                              Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons 
The Chain                        Fleetwood Mac
The Midnight Special      Creedence Clearwater Revival
 Beast of Burden              The Rolling Stones

I Wish They All Could Be California Girls

Sixteen months. I have been in Chi Town and out of California for sixteen months. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Time flies when you're....well whatever. My car registration was set to expire this month and I had to make a decision about re-registering in California or transferring my title and registration to Illinois. This is Jezebel's last year as a road worthy vehicle and she will be retiring when I leave the Midwest for PA school. After calling the DMV in California and discovering my 2011-2012 registration fees were going to be in excess of $300 and that they wanted an emissions test it was an elementary decision, my dear Watson. {$200 of it was in bogus unpaid parking violations to the City of Huntington Beach. Veird that those didn't show up when I was registering last year. Governor Brown is getting desperate}. After a painless 20 minutes at the DMV at 7AM this morning {that's right, twenty minutes} we went from this to this:

 

 An official Midwest Farmer's Daughter. But I don't know that anybody drove away from that DMV feeling all right. Switching out the plates was fairly bittersweet actually. To compensate I wore sandals and shorts to accomplish the task despite the 40 degree weather. Similar to going from this to this:

 

But it's just how I do. Chicago to California. An established pattern. Born in Chicago actually. A Chicagoan based on technicality. But raised on the Best Coast since my sixth birthday. {After a brief two year stint in Dallas. Maybe I'll go to PA school in Texas just to really solidify the symmetry}. What is that stupid shirt Texans have? American by birth, Texan by the grace of God. I much prefer Chicagoan by birth, Californian by the grace of God. Put that on your shirt and smoke it. From this to this: 

In addition to the Department of Motor Vehicles this morning I also had the great pleasure of going to the dentist. Add a trip to the gynecologist and you have yourself a five-star day. Although for me the dentist has always been a nice self esteem boost. I have a nice set. Of teeth. Eyes up here, please! It was a glorious 45 minutes of being complimented on my smile and the brilliant {nearly} natural white color of my chompers. Leaving my appointment I remembered a conversation I had with one of the OBGYNs I work with. He is a male. And was making the point that as a male OB you cannot ever tell a patient that everything "looks good" post va-jay-jay exam, you have to say "looks healthy". So your patients don't think you're a pervert. Or hitting on them. Dentists have it so much easier.

The Vegan/Vegetarian research is going well, if you must know. Currently reading and loving three books. And I had this delicious avocado, tomato and hummus sandwich for lunch. With a big glass of water. It was delectable.

 

There was also a quick stop at Target. Where the gentleman working the electronics department made it very difficult for me to make eye contact. And forced me to reevaluate the wide berth I give my love of facial hair. Never have I wanted to snap a photo so badly and text it to everybody in my phone. He had a Rocky Horror style skullet and unfriendly mutton chops. I say unfriendly because friendly mutton chops require a moustache and he did not have one. Add the following two pictures in your mind and you'll have a general idea what I was working with:

 

Playlist Highlights

Excuses                   The Morning Benders

Gangsta                   Tune-Yards

Floating Vibes         Surfer Blood

Friendly Ghost        Harlem

Collector                 Here We Go Magic

Dystopia                  Yacht

Vegan, Vegan bo-beagan

6+ months ago I read this book. Jonathan Safran Foer is one of my favorite authors and I was interested to read his take on the whole raw-vegan food movement. While I was {and am} appalled I really didn't make any changes to my eating habits. The animal cruelty factor is vomit inducing, however I was really more taken with the environmental impact of our dietary habits as a meat eating society than the moral issues. Equally alarming was the link between factory farming and human illness. As a science gal and future health care provider I was appalled. But continued to enjoy In N Out Cheeseburgers {Animal Style}, fish tacos and Chicago style hot dogs. Since turning 29 last week though it seems my body has decided to hate me. And all food. Developing gluten intolerance and celiac disease in ones late twenties seems to be all the rage these days. I refuse to put that label on my particular problem, but have decided maybe it's time to reevaluate my current diet. I may or may not have 3-5 books on hold at my local library about Vegetarian and Veganism. This might be happening, people.




Playlist Highlights
You Are The Best Thing               Ray LaMontagne 
Let It Be Me                                 Ray LaMontagne 
Empty                                           Ray LaMontagne 
Shelter                                          Ray LaMontagne 
Jolene                                           Ray LaMontagne
Old Before Your Time                   Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs

Pumalicious

I like old dudes. People Magazine can keep Ryan Reynolds. I think Jeff Bridges is The Sexiest Man Alive. And not even young Starman Jeff Bridges. Preferably Crazy Heart Bridges, True Grit Bridges. The Dude reigns supreme. In actual life being hit on by a 60 year old would probably disgust me and I stick more to the Franco-Brolin age range. {33-43 for the layperson}. The large percentage of males I have dated and "dated" since reaching the Mormon age of date-abilty at 16 have been four to six years my senior. Maybe it's the whole "women mature faster than men" thing. Maybe the worldliness and power factor. Or maybe it's just a facial hair factor. They are MEN.  I want to be with the Manther more than I want to be the Cougar {or Puma since I'm not 40+}. However, the older I get the more fresh young things seem to clamor for my attention. Unlike Michael Jackson I don't want to love you pretty young thing. Sometimes in desperation or boredom I have caved and become a reluctant Puma. Ridiculousness ensues every time. Once my prey of the moment was forced to put on a loaner t-shirt at a bar because his DVS jersey tanktop was deemed inappropriate dress. {At a bar where on a non-Halloween night the dance floor was swarmed by pirates, complete with parrot}. Currently I have piqued the interest of a Jersey Shore loving, minor league football player at work named Vince. Yes, Vince. I've had to consult Google multiple times in the last 24 hours to translate his texts. LOL. IDK. JW. WTF is what I have to say to that. It's gurl not girl. Gonna not gunna. Shoot me in the face.


Playlist Highlights
Grown Ocean                   Fleet Foxes
Please Be It                      Generationals
Cold War                         The Morning Benders
You Yes You                      Tune-Yards
Sound and Vision             David Bowie
You Said Something         PJ Harvey

**And I am stoked about this: Jeff Bridges Record Deal**